Animorphs in Japan
by Alexielle Kentras
Summary: Technically it's self-insertion... but with a group like this, how could I resist? ^^; (No connection to the real Animorphs.)


#Animorphs in Japan by Mer, edited by Katzi   
  
**Chapter 1**   
       Mer wanders into the chat. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! ...Oh, it's just Mer," she realizes.   
       "Serves you right," Alex remarks.   
       "Fa!" SilverDragon, mostly known as SD, cries.   
       "Ni!" Mer returns.   
       "Fa!" SD cries.   
       They go on for some time until NutCase, a. k. a. NC, complains about scrolling. CheeDolus (who is called Chee and occasionally Dolus),  CobraGirl (called CG by most), and Tygress (who's mostly called Tyg) are all away. Katzi is busy playing with her children while NC and JHawk (referred to as JH) banter. Alicorn, (called Ali) sits and just listens to the conversation, grinning, as does Khar pern, a.k.a. Khar. Alex is aimlessly wandering around. NiceAniBot is there as usual, quietly observing and recording for Ender, who is not present.   
       Mer is getting bored, predictably. NC is looking for an excuse to dismember someone until Meeko comes in. Then they're both looking for an excuse to dismember someone. When Mer starts beating up JH, it's the perfect reason.   
       JH is hopping around with his legs crossed, also predictably, while Meeko and NC do various things to Mer and SD watches, occasionally laughing as Mer tries to escape. Most everyone else is away, playing Dragon Court. It is just a normal day in the chat until Something Else Happened.   
       Chee comes back and does various things with Z-Space and force fields, trying to sort of help Mer. But Mer is getting really annoyed.   
       No one can say for sure what happened next. Mostly, everyone agrees it was Chee's fault (except for him), but some say Mer did it too. A few even argue that SD had a hand, or a claw rather, in it, or maybe NC and Meeko together.   
       Though people can almost agree on who to blame, no one can reach a conclusion on actually WHAT transpired that eventful day in the #Animorphs chat...

       SD is the first to appear. There is a brilliant, blinding flash of light, an implosion of matter, and suddenly she finds herself underwater.   
       She claws her way to the surface, about three feet from the top of her head, and peeks out of the water by standing on her tippy-claws. She blinks in surprise at the bowl-shaped valley, covered with trees. Far up on one valley wall, what looks like an Asian shrine is tucked away into the trees, and on the far shore, a large, modern house sits contemplatively.   
       SD only has enough time to wonder what "contemplatively" means before the sun is blocked out and she is shoved back under water without warning. She flails around ineffectively until the big (and this is big from SD's point of view), heavy thing clambers off of her.   
       SD surfaces again and sputters a few choice words until her vision clears. There sits one Mer, in her golden dragon form, about ankle-deep in water. Most of her is out of the big lake. "Sorry," Mer says dismissively. She cranes her neck around and her large golden eyes widen. "Oh, my," she says.   
       "What?" SD says petulantly. There is a pop and suddenly Mer is human-sized and -shaped again, treading water. She looks mildly annoyed by this sudden change, but they both take it in stride.   
       "Give me a lift, will you? I need to see this place from human perspective, anyway," Mer says to SD, who obligingly picks up the girl and holds her out of the water while she gets out of it herself. SD sits on the shore, drying a bit, while Mer looks around from her new perch.   
       Mer shakes her head slowly. Then, there's a muffled FWOOMP and a splash behind them.   
       SD looks over her shoulder as she sets Mer down. "That's... let's see... JH, NC, and... Meeko, I think."   
       The three are yelling something. "What are they saying?" Mer inquires, because she doesn't have hearing as good as the dragon's.   
       "Chee, apparently, sank like a rock," SD says indifferently.   
       "Never liked him anyway," cheerfully replies Mer.   
       JH makes for shore while the two girls in the lake dive, trying to reach Chee. "What are they doing?" asks a new voice.   
       Mer turns again; SD just casts a glance at the newcomer, Guardian, who is holding Kat.  "Chee can't swim," Mer reports. "They're out there trying to rescue him."   
       Guardian turns a few shades paler and clutches Kat tightly. "Why are you just standing here?!"   
       "Dear, he's a Chee, he can't down," SD says gently, taking Kat from Guardian.   
       "Oh," Guardian says.   
       After a few more tries, NC and Meeko give up and try to make it to shore, but they're too tired. SD is nice and steps into the lake again to fish them out, on the way getting JH and Chee too.   
       "Who's missing?" Chee says, surveying the little, confused, and mostly wet group.   
       "We're here!" chorus Khar and Alex as they tromp up.   
       "And what were you two doing?" JH says severely.   
       "Excuse me?!" Khar says indignantly.   
        "Who else was in the chat?" Mer interrupts.   
       "Katzi," Meeko says.   
       "CG too," NC adds.   
       "Wasn't Tygress there?" Meeko wonders aloud.   
        "Does the bot count?" SD inquires.   
       "Who knows," Mer says. "Maybe it's here too."   
        "Speaking of 'here'... WHERE ARE WE?!" Guard explodes.   
        "I can answer that," says Katzi as she joins the group with Kris and Clay. She looks as though she's just fallen from a tree, along with the twins. Maybe she did. Not everyone had a nice cushion of water (or dragon, for that matter).   
        "Me too," Mer says. She eyes Katzi. "Tenchi Muyo?" Katzi nods slightly.   
        "Isn't that a cartoon anime-thingy?" Khar asks.   
        "Yep," Katzi says. "Apparently we've transported into an anime world."   
        Everyone digests that for awhile. Then Alex says, "Cool!"   
        "Oh. Good. Now I'm caught in a world of short skirts, demonic beings, and constant threats to the world and universe at large. WITH all these stuck up upstart chatters around me!" Chee says. "Wonderful..." He is entirely ignored.   
        "You mean like Sailor Moon and Pokémon and stuff?" NC says nervously.   
       "Those are other anime series," Katzi says, a little condescending.   
        "What do we do?" Khar asks.   
        "Got me," Mer answers.   
       "Should we try to get back?" Guardian says dubiously. "I want some sugar..."   
        "I want some Pepsi," Mer adds.   
        "Why don't we go to that house over there?" Meeko says, pointing to the Asian-ish house SD had seen before.   
       "Go to Tenchi's house?!" Katzi says in shock.   
       "Why not?" Mer says. "I always wondered what made him so attractive..."   
       "What if no one's home?" JH says.   
       "Then we raid the house," Guard says decisively.   
       So they decide. The house is on the opposite shore. They tromp through the forest over there, talking excitedly the entire time. SD reverts to human form in case anyone is there, so they won't be freaked out.   
       Tygress and Alicorn are waiting outside the house when they clear the trees. "There you guys  are!" Tyg exclaims, hurrying over. "There was this bright flash and then I'm here with Ali."   
       "You didn't see us in the lake?" Mer says.   
       "The lake?" Ali repeats. "You were in the lake?"   
       "They must have appeared after we got out. After SD went human," Meeko adds, "or they woulda seen us in the forest, too."   
       "Yeah," Chee says.   
       "Now who's missing?" SD asks.   
       "Ummm... CG. And the bot."   
       "The bot?" Tyg says dubiously.   
       "What does the bot look like anyway?" Mer says puzzledly.   
       "Uh, hello?" says a guy no one had really noticed.   
       Everyone blinks at him. Then Katzi and Mer say in unison, "Tenchi!"   
       It's Tenchi's turn to blink at them. "Uh, hi," he says. "Do I, er, know you?"   
       "Nope," Mer says cheerfully. "Here, lemme introduce you! That's SD, NC, JH, Chee, Tyg, Ali, Khar, Katzi, and Guard, and I'm Mer."   
       "SD... NP... CH... JC... VB..." Tenchi mumbles, looking more than slightly dizzy.   
       "Anyway," Ali says, elbowing past Mer. She bats her eyelashes at Tenchi. "It's such a pleasure to meet you!"   
       SD had been staring at Tenchi, and now glares at Ali.   
       "Uh, the same," Tenchi says discreetly. "So, why are you here?"   
       "Haven't got a clue!" SD says. Tenchi looks at SD, then looks again in surprise.   
       "Hey... you have pointed ears." Tenchi stares.   
       "So?" SD says, huffing up, though she looks a little pink, even with her silver coloring in human form.   
       "Uhm," Tenchi says intelligently.   
       Suddenly, a rift appears next to Tenchi, just hanging in space there. It widens, and out gracefully steps a woman, wearing a striped blue and brown dress that tightly hugs her ample curves. She has yellow eyes slitted like a cat's and spiky blue-gray hair. Immediately, she drapes herself over Tenchi, who can't help but look somewhat pained. "Hiiiiiiiii, Tenchi," she says seductively as the rift closes seamlessly. Chee waves his hand through the space where it was, curious.   
       "Who're you?" Alex pipes up.   
       The newcomer drags her attention away from the anime-sweating Tenchi long enough to size up the group. She disengages from the (relieved) Tenchi and stands with her hands on her hips. "Who're YOU?" she demands.   
       "I'm Alex," Alex says, smiling charmingly. The woman glances through the group,   looking longest at SD.   
       "You're not from this neighborhood," the woman observes.   
       "None of us are," Mer interjects.  The woman stares at her coolly. "I'm Mer," Mer adds.   
        "Oh, Tenchi!" says a voice in singsong. The front door flies open and another woman comes running out. She wears a pink robe and has long purple hair with pretty red eyes. Everyone gets the impression "regal" just looking at her. Instantly, the first woman is all over poor Tenchi again.   
       "Why, hello, Ayeka," the first woman says smoothly to the second one, hugging Tenchi closely. The regal woman's eyes narrow dangerously.   
       "Greetings, Ryoko," Ayeka says, sounding cross. She grabs onto Tenchi and hauls him out of Ryoko's grasp. "How are you this morning?" she inquires of Tenchi, totally sweet again, and completely ignoring the group. Ryoko looks peeved.   
       "Ah, heh, well," Tenchi says. "We have some guests!"   
       "It wasn't morning when I left," JH grumps.   
       "Different time zones," Khar points out.   
       "Ni," Mer says.   
       "Not here, Mer," SD says absently. Mer looks disappointed.   
       "Guests?" says a new, much younger voice. A girl with long, blue pigtails pokes her head out the door. Then she bounds out. She is cute and very sweet.   
       Alex looks a little dreamy as he gazes at her; Guard thwaps him into sense.   
       "Hi everyone!" the girl says, bounding to a stop. "I'm-"   
       "Sasami!" Katzi exclaims.   
       All the non-group members stare at Katzi in surprise.   
       "Yes, that's me," Sasami says, recovering. "Have we met before?"   
       "Yeah, briefly," Katzi says with a smile.   
       "Oh, okay then," Sasami says brightly. "Are you going to be staying? Let's see... that's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve people! Plus everyone else. Oh boy, I'll gonna have to go to the store for this...!" She runs off, back where she came. Alex stares after her until Guard thwaps him again.   
       "So, what brings you here?" Ayeka asks politely.   
       "It was his fault!" Ali cries immediately, pointing at Chee.   
       "What?" Chee blinks. "No, Mer did it!"   
       Mer looks up. "I what?"   
       "Never mind," JH says. "You wouldn't understand."   
       Mer casually backhands JH and goes back watching the ants scurry around with the interest of a two-year-old. Khar clears her throat.   
       "It was some sort of freak accident," Khar says to Tenchi, who looks visibly relieved to be talking to someone with some apparent sense. "We don't know how we got here or where to go."   
       A new figure steps out of the house and makes her way over to the little gathering. She's a little short, but her big red hair and sharp green eyes make up for it. "I sensed the disantineotransdimensionalmentfyablekinkyness energy power coalescing," she says. "What's up?"   
       "Um," Tenchi says again, still trying to work his way through that word. Most every else does the same, except for Chee, who knew about things like disantineotransdimensionalmentfyableness energy powers.   
       "We got dumped into this reality when the aforementioned disantineotransdimensionalmentfyablekinkyness energy power backlashed onto its unsuppliable, copinianitpodal, and altogether incapable source," Chee explains.   
       "Yeah, what he said," Ali says helpfully, not having a clue what disantineotransdi-   
       "SHUT UP!" SD and JH and NC and Ali and Guard and Mer and Katzi yell at the narrator.   
       Fine, fine. Introductions were made.  The scientist lady turned out to be called Washu. She is probably the only one who remembered everyone's names. Her gaze lingers on SD, Mer, Ali, and Chee, making them squirm from the close inspection.   
       Yosho, Tenchi's grandfather, must have sensed something amiss with SD, Mer, Ali, and Chee, also, for his eyes narrow thoughtfully when they are introduced.   
       There are only five rooms in the house. After Kiyone and Mihoshi  are introduced, the rooming arrangements have to be sorted out.   
       They ended up like this:   
       Room #1: Tenchi, Tenchi's dad, & Tenchi's grandfather   
       Room #2: Ryoko, Ali, & Guard (and Kat).   
       Room #3: Sasami, SD, NC, & Mer   
       Room #4: Ayeka, Sasami, & Katzi (and the children)   
       Room #5: Mihoshi, Kiyone, Khar, Meeko, & Tyg   
       Room #6: JH, Chee, & Alex   
       Washu sleeps in her laboratory under the stairs when she remembers to sleep. Kiyone and Mihoshi usually have their own apartment, but it is under renovations, so they are staying at the Muyo residence.   
While everyone is outside helping with the chores, or pretending like they are, Mer and SD have a whispered discussion in their room.   
       "They can tell we're dragons, can't they," Mer whispers to SD, thinking of how Washu and Yosho had looked at them strangely.   
       SD nods, exotic eyes narrowing. "And my human form isn't that good for 'inconspicuous'..." she comments.   
       "I wish I had a cool looking human form..." Mer says wistfully.   
       "Anyway," SD says, "what're we going to do?"   
       "What else? Act like we're normal. Ali and Chee are gonna do the same thing. Let me tell you... according to the anime series, these people have seen a lot, but this group is too much, for sure. We'd weird them out."   
       SD nods again and they go downstairs to help Sasami cook. Hovering outside the window, Ryoko's eyes narrow. "Dragons, eh?" she murmurs to herself before disappearing into thin air. For a moment, it seems like her smile waits before disappearing with her.   
       Everyone gets to know each other better while they work, doing chores. By dinnertime, the house is cleaner than it has been in a long time, and Sasami has cooked a delicious meal, though there is hardly any room at the table for everyone. Ali, SD, Ryoko, and Ayeka all fight at the table to sit next to Tenchi, who can't seem to get in one bite. Ryo-Ohki appears and immediately attaches herself to Tygress permanently, also at the table. Yosho, Nobiyuki (Tenchi's father), Mihoshi, Kiyone, and Washu all sit at the little table by the couch, talking. Mer, NC, Alex, and JH, all hang out by the other couch, chatting and munching. Chee had gobbled his meal and gone straight back to Washu's laboratory, where'd he'd been the moment Washu offered to show it to him. After awhile, the red-haired scientist lady wanders off in the direction of the staircase. Katzi and Guard are feeding the three children.   
       JH and Alex are both being smart-mouthed, as usual. NC and Mer restrain their usual beatings to a few smacks and thwaps. Then, JH mutters something under his breath. Alex chokes on his food, and Mer turns bright red, those two being the only two in hearing range of his remark. Mer calmly puts down the plate, and turns to face JH, eyes narrowing. "You- you-"   
       JH smirks, knowing Mer was never too good with insults anyway, but scoots back, knowing she made up with hard smacks. But before Mer can do anything, her eyes flood with gold. Her hair lightens to the same gold, and a tail sprouts. The girl looks over her shoulder at her tail in dismay, sudden anger forgotten.   
       "Uh oh," JH says.   
       Alex quickly sits down between Mer and the others at the nearby couch, who hadn't noticed anything yet. NC looks around frantically, then grabs a couch cushion and plops it over Mer's tail, in the process throwing two plates off the couch. The plates and eating utensils go flying and land on the floor a good distance away, crashing and clattering. NC winces, then jumps up to collect them as Yosho, Nobiyuki, Kiyone, and Mihoshi blink at the pale, sweating, feebly grinning group of kids trying to act like they weren't hiding something.   
       "Eh heh," Mer laughs nervously. An anime sweatdrop appears next to her head.   
       "What's wrong?" Mihoshi asks innocently.   
       "Nothing! Nothing at all!" Alex yelps. Yosho slowly raises an eyebrow.   
       JH gives Alex a look, then says to Mihoshi, "Mer thought she was going to be sick." Everyone nods frantically. Mer tries to look sick. They get no few strange looks before the original residents resume their conversation and eating.   
       JH looks at Mer, but before he can speak, Mer's eyes return to blue and her hair darkens to its usual dirty-blonde. And her tail goes away.   
       They all breathe a communal sigh of relief. Then Mer grabs her sweatdrop and beats JH over the head with it. NC comes back from where she'd dumped the dishes in the kitchen, and puts the cushion back. After awhile, they relax and start talking again, until everyone disperses.   
       "That was close," Mer whispers to NC as they rinse off the dishes together. They'd both volunteered, in a strange fit of generosity for both of them.   
       "You'd better keep ahold of your temper next time, blondie," JH says as he dumps his dishes into the sink, passing by. Mer scowls.   
       "He's an idiot anyway," NC says to pacify Mer as JH leaves.   
       Sasami had entered the kitchen from another way, unnoticed. "Who, that boy?" she says innocently. Both Mer and NC jump, hiding the dishes behind their backs.   
       "Um... yeah... he was, um, being mean," NC says. Sasami smiles, places her dishes carefully in the sink, then wanders out.   
       "How much did she hear?" Mer hisses to NC and she grabs the sponge again and gives a plate a quick washing. She hands it to NC, who rinses it off and sets it in the rack.   
       "I don't know... we didn't say much..."   
       "So you know that we're keeping it secret?"   
       NC nods. "Everyone kinda figures that, except for sludge-for-brains," she says, hooking a thumb in the direction JH had gone. Mer grins and they finish washing the dishes and start drying them. "SD took everyone aside," NC says, "so even Chee knows to be careful."   
       Around the corner, Sasami blinks. Keep what secret? With a shrug to herself, she goes to find everyone else.   
       The rest of the evening is rather uneventful, with everyone still testing the boundaries and sizing each other up. Finally, it is time for bed. Suitable clothes are scrounged up and everyone gets ready to sleep.   
       Ayeka can't help but notice the whispers passing through the members of the group. She not-so-accidentally eavesdrops as Chee hurriedly whispers to Alex that there is going to be secret meeting in the boys' room (so decided because there were no non-group members sleeping in there) as soon as everyone else is asleep. Alex nods and continues on; Ayeka ducks into a doorway until he has passed. "A secret meeting, hmm?" Ayeka says to herself. "It's my duty to make sure these strangers are trustworthy... for Tenchi, of course, not my own curiosity..."   
       After an hour, doors creak open, and there are the sounds of people tip-toeing down the hall. Ayeka herself is perched in a tree right outside the boys' room's window, ready.   
       There is some confusion until they settle that everyone is there. Mer and Katzi have been already selected as the sort of-leaders because they know about this anime world.   
       "Shh, shh," Mer shushes everyone, until for once, they are all quiet and she has their attention. "First of all, I want to make on thing clear: We're a team now, trying to survive. We can trust these people to an extent, but not fully. We can't tell them where we're really from or what we're really capable of."   
       Ayeka perks up, leaning in a little closer. My, this is interesting! she thinks.   
       "Yeah," Katzi agrees. "This mostly applies to Mer, SD, and Chee, and Ali I suppose, and me too, because I already know about them. Alex should be okay, and Tyg too... by the way, Tyg, what is it with Ryo-Ohki and you?"   
       "I can't help it!" Tyg protests. "I guess she likes me..."   
       JH sniggers; NC thwaps him.   
       "JH and NC should be fine, too," Mer says. "The rest of us with shape-changing abilities simply won't transform. Okay? Not unless it's a life-or-death situation."   
       "Except one is a total idiot," NC remarks.   
       "You just left yourself sooo open," Guard points out. NC mutters something and looks away.   
       "And one is a total genius!" JH exclaims, and is thwapped by almost everyone simultaneously. As soon as they get that sorted out, Katzi clears her throat. "Anyway, from my points of view, Chee and Mer are in the most danger of being revealed. I can cover my tracks and Ali and SD can stay human if they like, as well as everyone else, but we all know what happens to Mer when she gets mad. Someone might forget. And Chee could end up showing his strength or his anti-harm programming... what remains of it, anyway... and Washu, as you know, is a very powerful scientist..."   
       Everyone nods in agreement, then Alex shakes his head just to be perverse. "What?" Khar says sharply.   
       "Ooh, you're grumpy when you don't get enough sleep," Alex teases.   
       "Shut up, moony-boy," Khar snaps.   
       "What?!" Alex cries.   
       "Like it is perfectly obvious you're heads-over-heels for Sasami," Guard mutters. Alex splutters indignantly for a few moments, then shuts up.   
       "That one boy?" Ayeka murmurs to herself. "...Interesting indeed. And that other, smug-faced little boy... anti-harm… programming? That Washu would know about, technology, hmm?"   
       "Shhhhh," Khar hisses suddenly, holding a finger to her lips. Everyone falls totally silent and Ayeka freezes.   
       "....I guess it was nothing," Khar says reluctantly.   
       "That another thing," NC adds. "We all... and that means ALL... have to be very careful. We don't know when we're being listened to. Me and Mer were startled by Sasami after dinner."   
       "They're just human," JH grumbles.   
       Mer arches a brow. "Actually... no."   
       That gets everyone's attention. "What?" Tyg says. "I mean, I know they have funny colored hair, but that's just an anime thing, right?"   
       "Why don't we fill them in on these people, Mer," Katzi says.   
       Mer nods. "Good idea. Okay, I'll start with Ryoko, Ayeka, and Sasami. Ryoko's some sort of famous thief, an intergalactic bandit, sort of..."   
       Ayeka leans forward, fascinated. What did they know already?   
       Mer continues. "She can transport, as you guys noticed, and has pretty impressive magical powers otherwise. Ryo-Ohki can turn into a ship at her will."   
       "Neat," Tyg says.   
       "Ayeka and Sasami are sisters," Mer goes on. "They're both princesses of some other planet, Jurai..."   
       Ayeka almost falls off her branch. Mer pauses, silenced momentarily by the sound of branches thrashing and creaking, until SD says, "It was just the wind brushing the trees branches against the wall. Go on."   
       "They both have some pretty good magical powers, mostly defensive, Ayeka more, I think. Sasami has some other, secret power. But that's in a spin-off series... I dunno if that applies here." Mer shrugs. "You see those two big wooden statues? Those're actually like robots, guides for Ayeka and Sasami, and they have a really big ship too. Katzi?"   
       "I'll do Tenchi," Katzi says. "His grandfather actually is like the long-lost prince of Jurai. Tenchi's dad is on the wrong side, but Tenchi is actually like one-fourth Juraian. He's got some pretty powerful powers himself, and a cool sword."   
       At this, Ayeka does fall off her branch, and catches herself on the windowsill, still slamming into the wall.   
       "That wasn't wind!" Khar exclaims, running up to the window. She pushes the drapes aside and look out suspiciously, but completely fails to notice Ayeka's fingers clinging to the windowsill. "...Oh, well." She returns to the group and drops back into a sitting position.   
       "Kiyone and Mihoshi are partners, both Galaxy Police officers, assigned to Earth's solar system. Washu is a really old, powerful, altogether mad scientist... I think that's it," Mer says. Ayeka laboriously climbs back onto the tree, taking pains to be quiet.   
       "Sounds good to me," Katzi agrees. "Now, we can't let on that we know this much about them, but-"   
       JH snores loudly. NC, Mer, and Khar kick him at the same time, and he wakes with an 'ow'. "And?" Mer says to Katzi.   
       "We have to be sure, absolutely sure, that we're not being listened to if we ever talk about confidential things again after this meeting."   
       Everyone agrees, then sneak back to their rooms to sleep.   
  
**Chapter 2**   
       Alex, Chee, and JH are the first to wake up. They run downstairs and outside in the chilled morning air. They fool around until SD, Mer, NC, and Khar show up, then they all play hide-and-go-seek. Sasami joins in and Tyg and Katzi come too. Then everyone goes inside to help with breakfast, which makes quite a melee.   
       After that, everyone splits up to do various things. Sasami has to go to the store, so immediately Alex volunteers to go with her. Then, Guard decides to go, "to keep him in line," as she puts it. Khar goes along just for the fun of it. Chee and Washu are in Washu's laboratory again. Washu is thrilled to have someone who knows so much about technology. But she's keeping a careful eye on him, because of what Ayeka told her.   
       Nobiyuki has to go to work, and Tenchi and Yosho head off to the shrine. Kiyone and Mihoshi also have to report to duty, ascending into space in their big, impressive spaceship.   
       That left JH, Khar, NC, Mer, SD, Ali, Katzi, and Tyg with nothing to do. The house had been cleaned from top to bottom the day before. They loiter around, inside the house, just wandering around aimlessly. At one point, Ali and SD sneak away, to spy on Tenchi as he works at the shrine. Ayeka and Ryoko more or less do the same, but somehow, none of them run into any of the others.   
       Katzi takes the kids outside to romp. They play in the grass, in the trees, down by the shore of the lake, under her watchful eye. And sometimes, she turns to look at the house, then around at the valley, and wonders.   
       I think I'm forgetting someone, actually... wasn't there someone else in that chatroom the day the strange events first transpired? Let me think... hmm... oh yes! How could I forget CobraGirl. Let's go straight to her.   
       CG sits down in the middle of the clearing. Her hair is mussed, her clothes torn and dirty, and she looks as though she hadn't slept all night, and is about to burst into tears.   
       She glances around at the trees, wide-eyed. At least the shadows aren't so dark and ominous after the sun rises. "Where am I?" she moans. "Where is everyone else? What happened?" When it becomes apparent that no answers are going to miraculously present themselves, CG sighs and gets back to her feet, raking her fingers through her tangled hair. Then she chooses a direction at random and sets off, hoping fervently it isn't the way she has just come from. She trips over a root, stubbing her toe, and muffles a less-than-polite exclamation. When she realizes there's probably no one around for miles to here her, she shouts it as loud as she can.   
       Back to the Muyo residence.   
       After awhile, Tyg wanders outside. She watches Katzi and the children, and sees the speculative look on Katzi's face. Finally, she asks, "What are you thinking about?"   
       Katzi jumps, not having noticed Tyg's approach from behind. "Oh, um, stuff," she says vaguely. Then she cups her hands around her mouth, towards the shore. "CLAY! DON'T GET SO CLOSE TO THE WATER!"   
       "What kinda stuff?" Tyg presses. Katzi glances at her, tucking her hands into her pockets self-consciously.   
       "Well, for one thing, I think everyone is just taking it for granted that we're here," Katzi says carefully. "I mean, think about it..." She looks around furtively, for anyone else who could be listening, but there's no one to be seen. "This is an anime series. A cartoon, for all intents and purposes. It's drawn pictures, totally fictional!"   
       Tyg thinks about that. "Yeah, but..." Her voice trails off. "I mean, it's not that far out. I mean, look at us. We're just like we are in the chat, super powers and all. If that's true, why not some cartoon series?"   
       They both sense they are bordering on a potential plot hole in their lives, so without speaking, they agree to end the discussion. Tyg wanders back into the house.   
       Mer is about to go insane from boredom. Already she has both wings and a tail, but no original residents are around, so she's not worried. JH, Khar, NC, and Tyg, as well are Ryo-Ohki are all chatting in the living room (though the feline isn't quite chatting), perfectly content. Either Mer's too smart or not smart enough to be satisfied by their conversation (go figure), so she wanders over to the staircase and knocks on the door. Despite the warm weather, she wears a sweater to hide her wings, and her skirt hides her tail. It was Khar's idea. Mer is less than happy about the skirt.   
       Chee answers the door. He blinks at Mer. "What do you want?" he says.   
       "I'm booored," Mer says plaintively. She peeks over him into the laboratory, and blinks. "It looks a lot smaller from the outside," she comments.   
       "Well, duh," Chee says impatiently. "So, what do you want me to do?"   
       "Can I watch what you're doing?" Mer asks hopefully.   
       Chee's about to refute her when Mer smiles, showing teeth entirely too long and sharp. "You wouldn't want me to be bored, would you?" she says with false sweetness. "Certain, uncomfortable changes might happen, you know."   
       Chee hastily changes his mind and admits Mer into the laboratory. Washu is so busy in front of a computer panel, she doesn't even notice. Chee goes to join her, and Mer watches over their shoulders quietly. Her forehead creases.   
       Chee notices her expression. "What?" he says shortly. Beeps bop bip, goes the computer.   
       "You forgot this," Mer says, and before Chee can react, she reaches in and presses a few buttons. Chee yelps and looks at the screen, but Washu rouses from her trance long enough to blink at what Mer did.   
       "Of course!" Washu exclaims. "That's what we forgot! No wonder the compressed matrix kept inverting, with that sort of pressure!" She returns to work with twice the fervor, not even sparing Mer half a glance.   
       Chee stares at Mer, who sits back on her heels and crosses her arms, a smug expression on her face. Chee opens his mouth to say something, closes it, opens it again, shuts it once more, and then turns back to the console without a word.   
       Mer wanders about the laboratory after that, poking this and that experimentally. Somehow, the entire house does not go up in flames. Occasionally Chee looks at her, not believing. Mer still wears that smug smile.   
       After awhile, Mer settles down with a few various pieces of discarded machinery. She tinkers with them happily. After awhile, Washu steps back from the console and stretches her arms for a moment. "Well, little buddy, how about a break?" she inquires of Chee.   
       Chee hardly needs a break, but agrees anyway. Washu turns and, for the first time, sees Mer. "What-? Who are you?"   
       Mer blinks, looking up at Washu. "I'm Mer, remember? I came with that group of weirdoes who showed up yesterday."   
       "Oh, that's right," Washu says. Chee looks pained. "What're you doing?"   
       "I'm making a ring," Mer says.   
       "A ring?" Washu repeats dubiously.   
       "Yeah, see?" Mer holds the little contraption to Washu, who takes it with extreme care.   
       "This should be able to control personal transformational energies," Washu comments, turning it over and over in her hands. "Basic energy diversion."   
       "Really?" Mer says in surprise, looking up at the scientist with innocent, wide blue eyes. Chee isn't fooled for a moment, and he coughs.   
       "Yeah," Washu says, handing it back. "You just need a power source."   
       "Cool," Mer says, pleased. She stands up and the three wander outside to get a bit of lunch. Sasami, Alex, Guard, and Khar aren't back yet. They gather everyone for lunch, but for some reason, Katzi is missing, though her kids are with the rest of them. No one knows where she went.   
       Well, lunch is boring, so let's skip back to CG.   
       "HELLLLLOOOO?!!! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME??!!!! HELLLLLLPP!!!!!"   
       How about our shoppers, then?   
       "Er," says Alex. A bit of ash drifts on the wind and settles onto his nose. Absently he brushes it off. Sasami and Khar are nowhere to be seen, but Guard is standing next to him, shaking her head slowly.   
       "It was an accident," Alex says helplessly. The view pans to show a large building mostly burnt down. As the two watch, one wall crumbles in, and the charred ceiling assumes a dangerous angle. People are gathered around, watching the building- formerly a market- go up in flames. Before long, a rickety old fire truck arrives to begin dousing the flames. Alex and Guard discreetly fade into the crowd.   
       Ooooookay then. Where are Sasami and Khar?   
       Khar kicks a rock and watches it bounce down the road. She and Sasami, burdened with packages, are heading towards the house. "Wonder where Alex and Guard went," Khar comments.   
       "Gee, I don't know," Sasami says, narrowly catching a can that had tumbled out one of her bags. "They just disappeared."   
       "And we couldn't wait up for them, or we wouldn't have enough time for make dinner," Khar finishes. Few knew Khar's great skill at cooking, which rivaled Sasami's. The young princess was too glad to find another chef, especially with the addition of the new group of people to feed.   
       A squirrel scoots over the road behind them, to grab a package of nuts Khar had dropped without noticing.   
       Who else is there to see? Oh yeah, Tenchi and his devoted followers. Let's spy on what they're doing.   
       Tenchi yelps as his grandfather delivers a hard smack on the ribs with his staff. Four girls simultaneously wince, hidden in plants on different sides of the clearing.   
       Tenchi retaliates by driving a series of blows at his grandfather, who parries them with ease. Then, in one quick motion, Yosho sends the butt of his staff into Tenchi's stomach. Four winces again. Tenchi stumbles back, trips over a protruding tree root, and falls squarely into the clump of bushes SD is hiding in.   
       SD lets out a strangled squeak but is frozen still, because he can't see her. Tenchi blinks, prods a clump of leaves, and SD turns red, still hidden from view. Then Tenchi shrugs, gets up, and resumes his practice.   
       After awhile, Yosho straightens from his fighter's crouch and wipes his forehead. Tenchi does the same, leaning a bit on his staff. "Lunch?" Tenchi says. The moment Yosho nods, Ayeka bursts into the clearing, carrying three box lunches.   
       "Why, hello!" she exclaims. "I thought you might be getting a bit hungry, so I went to the trouble of packing box lunches!"   
       "Why, thank you, Ayeka," Yosho says.   
       "Yeah, thanks," Tenchi says happily.   
       "Anything to please you, Tenchi," Ayeka simpers. Ali, hiding up in a tree, looks like she's going to be sick. Then she looks down thoughtfully at the clump of bushes Tenchi had fallen into. For a moment, she thought she'd heard someone familiar...   
       The three barely even sit down before Ryoko appears, literally. "Tenchi!" Ryoko exclaims. "Have you forgotten I was going to take you out today at lunch?"   
       "What?" Ayeka cries. "You made no such agreement!"   
       "Did too!" Ryoko retorts. "We were going to go the Chiyome Sushi!"   
       "You conniving wench!" Ayeka shouts, her face darkening. "You knew I went to all the effort of buying... I mean preparing these box lunches for Tenchi  so you decided to spoil it! How dare you!"   
       "Er," Tenchi says, entirely unnoticed.   
       Ryoko and Ayeka are still shouting when Khar wanders into the clearing, also ignored by the two fighting women. "Hey, guys," she greets them. "I was wondering if you were coming down for lunch."   
       "Sure," Tenchi says quickly. He, Khar, and Yosho slip away while Ryoko and Ayeka are yelling nose-to-nose at each other. Ali slithers down the tree and nudges the suspicious bush with a toe, which lets out a muffled sound.   
       "Coming, SD?" Ali asks quietly.   
       SD emerges from the bush, pulling a twig from her hair. "Sure, why not," she says sheepishly, and those two make their way down to the house, leaving Ayeka and Ryoko to argue themselves out.   
       Sasami and Khar barely make it home in time to keep NC from flooding the house (in her attempt to prepare peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, with JH's "help"). Together, those four do make some nice sandwiches, and lunch is happy and talkative. After awhile, Ryoko and Ayeka quietly slink back into the group.   
       Not too long after, Nobiyuki returns home. Sasami and Khar are hard at work in the kitchen, watched by NC, and being interfered with by JH. Chee and Washu are back in the lab, hard yet happily at work at something which may or may not get the chatters back home.   
       Katzi is still missing. Mer, Ali, and SD all go to find her. At nearly the same time, Guard and Alex both arrive. Guard goes with the searchers to find Katzi; Alex joins Yosho and Ryoko in watching TV. Ayeka is working in the garden, along with Tyg. Ryo-Ohki would have been with Tyg even if they weren't close to so many carrots.   
       Night falls slowly, revealing a sky so full of stars, it seems impossible. The search party returns, unsuccessful. Kris and Clay are very unhappy.   
       Mihoshi and Kiyone return just in time for dinner, which is excellent. After dinner, it's the usual, people finding ways to keep themselves busy. Or they would have died from boredom. Soon, it's time for bed.   
       Ali stays up long after the house had fallen entirely silent. She listens to Ryoko's tossing and turning and the small, baby sounds Kat makes, and can't fall asleep. She quietly gets up and sneaks out of the room, out of the house. Walking by the lake, she doesn't think of anything in particular except how nice it looks when the stars are reflected in the water.   
       Ryoko quits moving in her sleep, and Kat is soundless once more. The entire house becomes not the silence of night, but the silence of something else entirely. With the silence of night, there are always trees rustling, crickets chirping, the waters of the lake quietly hitting the shore. But everything is on mute, and it is that unearthly silence which awakens all the sleepers  in the house.   
       Then, the silence is shattered by a long, high-pitched scream from the lakeshore.   
       Washu looks up, startled, as one of her many computers starts beeping and flashing. She jumps up and moves over to it, and blinks. "What is this? Massive energy near the lake?" She tears off a readout the machine produces and scans it quickly. "Uh oh." Then she's all but flying up the stairs, and out the lab.   
       SD, Mer, and NC all sit up and blink at each other. "It's Ali," SD whispers. Jumping up, they run downstairs, except for Mer, who sits there and blinks a little while longer before looking enlightened, saying "Oh," and following. Guard meets them in the hall, followed by Ryoko. No one even pauses to change, though Guard had thrown on a robe over her pajamas.   
       Tenchi, his father, and his father's father all jerk into full consciousness at the sound. "It's one of the guests," Yosho says. He and Tenchi leave Nobiyuki behind, merging with the other group pounding outside.   
       They skid to a halt on the front yard. Down by the lake is a huge monster. Easily the size of Mer in golden dragon form, it's a mottled green, brown, and magenta, warty and scaly.  It mouth is entirely too wide, from which strangely angled teeth protrude, cutting into its own flesh. Beady black eyes glisten unnaturally and its nose is sunken in, a mass of wrinkles. It seems to have no neck, its head attached pig-like to its solid body. The forelegs are overly long, made for rending and fighting rather than walking, while its back legs are stumpy and powerfully built. Its tail is like that of a stegosaurus, with a ball to which spikes are affixed at the end. This swings around wildly, flattening trees.   
       But even that shouldn't have daunted them. What really makes them look was that fact that two cute little pink bunny ears, one flopping over adorably, rest on top of its head. And around where its neck is, more or less, hangs a sign that clearly says, "Bot".   
       "Now I've seen it all," Guard says.   
       "My God, it's like Godzilla but... but..." SD stutters in shock.   
       "Really ugly?" Mer offers, wrinkling her nose. "And smelly."   
       "I've never seen anything like it," Washu says. "And that's saying a lot."   
       A trumpeting neigh cuts off their stunned conversation. Darting out from behind the monster, a white horse is seen briefly. Except horses don't usually have wings or a horn. "Ali!" NC exclaims.   
       "That's the girl?" Tenchi says blankly.   
       "We'll explain later," JH says confidently. He and Chee and Alex had shown up. "But now what can we do?"   
       Glances are shared throughout the group. Just don't ask me how many glances that makes, total. "What can fight something that big?" Yosho says.   
       Five pairs of eyes land on Mer. "Um, maybe not," Chee says. "I mean, who knows?"   
       Ryoko grins, pushing up her sleeves. "I'll take a crack at it."   
       "Um, Ryoko, do you really think that's a-" Tenchi begins.   
       A blast energy makes every jump back. Blue and white lightning crackles around Ryoko before she cries out and makes a throwing gesture with her hands. The lightning snaps out, engulfing the huge monster. Ali lets out a startled neigh and fires her wings, dodging back in mid-air.   
       It continues for another few painfully bright moments, then stops. When everyone's vision clears, they see the monster, unharmed except maybe a little browner. It roars, shaking the very ground, and suddenly, the lightning comes streaking back.   
       Before any more than a few yelps and screams are let out, little things suddenly appear in midair. The lightning hits them and flows right over the group, then into the ground, where it dissipates harmlessly. Ayeka lowers her arms, breathing heavily.   
       "Geez," JH manages.   
       The alicorn flies over to the group. As her hoofs touch the ground, she suddenly turns back human, and staggers into Tenchi. On accident, of course. Tenchi catches her before she falls. "Are you okay?" he exclaims.   
       Ali blinks up at him starry-eyed, before the question reaches her brain. "Uh, yeah."   
       SD casually grabs the back of Ali's shirt and hauls her away from Tenchi. "Well, Ali, glad to have you back," she says with artificial sweetness. Ali winces.   
       But they have something much larger to worry about. Rid of the pesky thing diverting it before, the bot-monster returns its attention to the group, and it roars again.   
       "Now what?" Guard says.   
       "Run?" Yosho suggests as a huge clawed foot comes down over them. They scatter in all directions.   
       Mer grabs Alex as they run parallel to the shore. "Tell everyone to move out," she says, then reconsiders. "Everyone 'cept me and SD and Ali and Chee."   
       "What? How?" Alex says in dismay.   
       Mer kicks up sand as she slows down. "I don't care, just do it. This is gonna be nasty." Alex runs back, giving the monster a wide berth. Mer looks toward the shore and takes a deep breath, then kicks off her shoes.  She runs back towards the monster, which is facing away from her but also on the shore, then dives into the water.   
       SD spies Mer. "What is that blonde doing?" she exclaims. She's run down the shore on the opposite side of the monster. "Damn, I can't change with everyone still here! I need some cover!" She runs for the trees.   
       Tyg and Khar have come out, only to immediately seek shelter. Mihoshi and Kiyone also appear, then take cover, and are squeezing out laser shots from their guns at the rampaging monster. It is currently after Guard, who is by herself. In three huge steps, it catches up to her, then bends over and snaps her up.   
       "Guard!" Tyg cries.   
       "Quiet!" Ali hisses. "She's probably gone mist!"   
       Ryoko continues to try different forms of attack, while Ayeka helps shield. No one knows where Sasami is. JH is with Khar, while Tenchi and Yosho stick together.  Chee is by himself.   
       Alex runs from group to group, staying away from the monster and the blasts. He tries to convince them to vacate the area, but no one will budge. Eventually he joins Chee, observing the monster and wondering what happened to Guard.   
       A dragon crashes through the trees, silver and sleek and graceful. It roars a challenge, distracting the monster from the two GP officers. It roars in return, bunny ears twitching. "I knew it! A dragon!" Ryoko exclaims.   
       "You what? Where'd it come from?" Ayeka says, bewildered.   
       The dragon isn't as large as the monster, but dives forward anyway, gouging it claws at the monster's eyes. The bot tosses its head, throwing the silver dragon into the lake. Suddenly, the dragon appears again, appearing to be sitting on top of the water. It blinks and looks down. And the rest of what it's sitting on top of rises out of the lake.   
       The golden dragon bares its formidable teeth at the monster as lake water runs in creeks down her back. The silver dragon sputters and slides off, back to shore. The monster looks daunted.   
       The golden dragon lunges forward, tackling the ugly thing. They create a small valley as they plow in the ground and make Mihoshi and Kiyone leap for their lives.   
       "Good grief," Tenchi says. Yosho nods slowly, eyes unreadable behind his glasses. Tenchi holds the hilt of his sword, uncertain, the blade shimmering.   
       The pile of claws and scales, shining and brown, slash and claw and bite. The silver dragon joins in, harrying the monster. The pile rolls over, dangerously close to the house, right over Alex and Chee.   
       "Ahh! They're not watching what they're doing!" Khar exclaims.   
       "Alex and Chee can make it," JH says dubiously. "I think."   
       The monster roars one more time, then suddenly vanishes, dropping the golden dragon on top of the silver one. Muffled, the silver one says, "Not again!"   
       The golden dragon looks around, confused, and then shrugs its shoulders. A pop, and then Mer is sitting on the back of the silver dragon. She hops off, landing on the ground without harm, then the dragon shifts back into SD.   
       Chee sits up inside a Chee-shaped indention in the ground. "Man, you guys are heavy," he remarks. Mist reforms into Alex, unhurt.   
       "Are you calling me fat?!" Mer cries, stalking over to Chee and jerking him up by the hair.   
       "No, just heavy," he says, unperturbed. Mer lets go.   
       "Where's Guard?" SD says worriedly. A breath of air brushes past her. Mist condenses, and Guard is back as well. "Man, that thing was impossible to take control of!"   
       Khar, Tyg, and Ali rejoin the group. "Where'd it go?" Tyg says.   
       "It knew it was beat," SD says. "But... it'll be back."   
       Alex cues some dramatic music.   
       Tenchi, his grandfather, Ryoko, and Ayeka pick their way over the battlefield that had once been a nice field in front of the house over to the group. The two groups look at each other, neither knowing what to say. Mihoshi and Kiyone join them also. Washu is nowhere in sight.   
       "Is it 'later' yet?" JH asks finally.   
       "I most certainly hope so!" Ayeka manages. "You- you all-"   
       "I heard them," Ryoko says matter-of-factly. She points at SD and Mer. "They said they were dragons."   
       "Where did you guys say you were from?" Tenchi says.   
       "We didn't," Chee says.   
       "What do you want to know?" Mer asks.   
       "You can start," Ryoko says, eyes narrowing. "What are you?"   
       Mer smiles. "I'm a girl who turns into a golden dragon sometimes."   
       They digest that. Then, a voice rings out. "I got it! This'll stop the monster!" Washu appears from inside the house, her computer floating behind her. She stops on the porch, blinking at the battlefield and the group.   
       "You're a little late," Kiyone observes dryly.   
       Washu peers around. "Darn, it's gone."   
       "It'll be back," SD says.   
       Alex cues the ominous music again, which ends in a squeak of misused instruments as Guard favors him with a Look that could stop a grown man in his tracks.   
       "Oh, good," Washu says, and wanders back inside.   
       Yosho clears his throat. "And the other dragon?"   
       "I'm a silver dragon who turns into a girl sometimes," SD clarifies.   
       "I see," Tenchi says. He looks at Ali. "Are you a girl who turns into a horse, or vice versa?"   
       "I-" Alicorn draws herself up to her full height, barely level with Tenchi's shoulder- "am an alicorn, who is a girl when she wants to be."   
       Alex snickers. Ali casually digs an elbow into his ribs.   
       "I can turn into mist," Guard says. "Which is why I'm not a midnight snack at the moment. He-" she indicates Alex- "can do the same, which why he isn't the monster's breakfast."   
       They stare at her blankly. She sighs. "You know, pancake, breakfast?"   
       Everyone gets it but Mer and Mihoshi.   
       "What about him?" Ayeka says, pointing at Chee.   
       "Oh, he's so dense it would take something heavier than two dragons and a monster to put a dent in him," SD says cheerfully.   
       "I am an android," Chee says with dignity. Seeing their blank looks, he adds, "A robot with artificial intelligence."   
       "Ahhh," says Mihoshi wisely. "Like my spaceship."   
       "Yeah, whatever," Kiyone says.   
       Ryo-Ohki makes a mewling sound. Tyg picks her up; Ryoko eyes her. "What about you?"   
       "I'm perfectly normal, thanks," Tyg says dryly.   
       "Except..." Ali prods.   
       "Well, I can change to a dragon too, but I don't do it a lot," Tyg says, petting Ryo-Ohki. "And a tiger."   
       Tenchi looks confused by all these people, not only with weird names, but strange powers. He looks at Khar. "You too?"   
       Khar snorts. "I am what I look like."   
       "Which doesn't say much," comments JH. "Oh, by the way..."   
       "Hmmm?" says Guard.   
       "Where's Meeko?"   
       Everyone considers.   
       "Where is Meeko?" Chee says finally. "She hasn't been around since we first got here!"   
       "Who?" Yosho says.   
       "And Kazti's gone," Khar adds.   
       "CG never showed up," Mer points out.   
       "Where is Sasami?" Alex wonders.   
       "And that awful monster appeared," Ayeka says. "Do any of you know what it is?"   
       After a prolonged moment, there are a chorus of no's.   
       "It wore a sign," Ryoko says. "It said 'Bot'. Bot? What does that mean?"   
       "Who knows," Tyg says cheerfully.   
       "NC is missing too!" SD exclaims suddenly. "She was with us when we came out here!"   
       "What's going on?" Ali says worriedly. "People are disappearing into thin air!"   
       "Who's next?" Mer says dramatically. It's suddenly very quiet.   
        Guard thwaps her. "Don't say things like that!"   
        "We should all go back to bed," Ayeka announces.   
        "Right," says JH.   
        The somewhat diminished group returns to the house.

**Chapter Three**   
       SD awakens and stretches, immediately checking to make sure everyone is there. All the beds are empty. "Shit!" she exclaims.   
       Mer pokes her head in the door. "Is that what you say when you usually wake up? And it's about time. I mean, everyone else is up."   
       "Um," SD says, standing up. "Never mind."   
       Breakfast is uneventful. Unlike SD, some haven't got much sleep. None of the missing people have shown up, and everyone keeps looking around to see if anyone else is gone. Nobiyuki leaves for his job; Mihoshi and Kiyone depart as well, and Yosho and Tenchi go to the shrine. Ryoko disappears, saying, "I'll be back later." Meanwhile, Khar is left to cook for the entire household. Ayeka volunteers to help. Washu is off on her own.   
       Ali, Guard, Alex, JH, Mer, SD, Chee and Tyg all look at each other. Somehow, Mer's question from the night before is stuck in their heads.   
       "What're we going to do?" Alex paces back and forth. Mer, Dar, and SD are draped across the couch, while Guard and the children occupy the loveseat. With Katzi gone, Guard silently started taking care for the twins. JH is lying on the carpet, and Tyg is leaning against a wall.   
       "About what?" Dar says lazily.   
       "This! Everything! Who's gone, now?"   
       "Um... let's see.... CG, Meeko, NC, Katzi, and Sasami," Chee says, wandering into the room as Alex speaks.   
       "They aren't in the valley," Tyg says. "They all left without warning."   
       "Under mysterious circumstances," JH adds.   
       "At least we don't have to keep any more secrets," Mer yawns, showing fangs as she does so.   
       Guard resists the urge to yawn also. "You think that Bot did it?"   
       Alex shrugs. "Who knows what it can do."   
       "Man, I'm going to miss Sasami's cooking," Dar remarks.   
       They're all quiet again. "Was it something I said?" Dar asks.   
       Guard turns her head to stare at Dar. "Daroneasa?"   
       "What?"   
       "When the hell did you get here?"   
       There is utter silence.   
       "Oh dear," Tyg says. "Guard, are you feeling all right?"   
       "What?" Dar manages. "I've been here!"   
       Guard sits up, looking around the group, who all stare at her. "You mean... you all remember..."   
       "Guard, I told you to stop using drugs," Chee says sternly.   
       "What's wrong with you people?" Guard exclaims. "Dar was not here before this morning!" She affixes the confused Dar with her gaze. "I have absolutely no memory of you being in this group before today."   
       "Okay, let's verify it," Mer says sensibly. "Okay, SD and I just got out of the lake. Meeko and JH and NC and Chee appear there shortly after, then Khar and Alex come. No, wait, Guard was before them. Katzi came in sometime or another. Ali and Tyg were outside the house..." Her voice trails off.   
       Now everyone is staring at Dar. "Come to think of it," JH says slowly, "I actually don't remember you."   
       "And come to think of it," Dar says in a small voice, "I don't actually remember arriving here."   
       "This is not good," Tyg says solemnly.   
       "People disappearing, now people appearing?" Alex says wonderingly.   
       "Keeps this place interesting," Mer comments. No one pays attention.   
       "Won't Dar's looks attract attention?" Chee points out.   
       "Not if the others got the same memory overhaul we did," SD says.   
       "Then they'll be expecting a Hork-Bajir?" Guard says dubiously.   
       "Let's not make them think about it," Dar says.   
       "Good idea," Mer agrees.   
       "Think about what?" Khar says, poking her head in from the kitchen.   
       "Hi, Khar," Dar says brightly.   
       "Hi, Dar," Khar replies absently. After a moment, feeling somewhat disconcerted by the intensity of the stares she is getting, she returns to the kitchen.   
       "We'd better be on guard," Mer says. "What if someone else has appeared and we didn't notice?" Everyone looks at each other, suspicious.   
       "Anyway," Tyg says pointedly, making everyone snap out of it. "What're we going to do about the bot? We can't drag Mer out every night to fight it-" Mer grins, showing entirely too much fang- "even if she enjoys it."   
       Shrugs are exchanged. Dar fiddles with a loose thread from the carpet.   
       "What does it want?" SD wonders.   
       "It's a monster. It doesn't have wants," JH says.   
       "You don't know that," Guard objects.   
       "Hey, Chee, what about that project you and Washu were working on... the thingy to get back home?" Alex inquires.   
       "It was fundamentally flawed," Chee says glumly. "We had to scrap it."   
       "What do you mean, flawed?" JH exclaims.   
       "There's no way to tell where we're supposed to be," Chee says idly, flopping onto the couch when SD makes room. "It's like whatever happened somehow rearranged the universe  so that the fabric of reality isn't even warped... and if we tried to transport us back, time-space would be all bent and messed up, so at best being at home would be temporary. Then we'd all be pulled back here."   
       "Wow... that made sense," Mer marvels.   
       "I try," Chee says modestly.   
       "How can that be?" Guard frets. "We weren't born here, this is just a fabrication of someone's imagination!"   
       "Hey, that almost rhymes," JH says.   
       "Well, the fact is, we are here," Tyg says flatly. "What are we going to do about it?"   
To Be Continued... Muwahaha   
 

**Notes   **   
       This is more than slightly out-of-date, so please forgive me. I started it in early April, and the people of #Animorphs have changed since then, some in remarkable ways. But I'm going to stay with the old ways because I simply can't change the story every time someone gets a new ability or moves to a new location or likes someone new.   
       I can safely say that this story is far from over and it's one of my favorites to write, though, as many have probably noted, it comes along rather slowly. But I actually have a vague plot in mind which might actually have an ending, unlike most of my stories.   
       I'm aware that this story is based upon blatant self-insertion, but with such a colorful crowd like my friends in #Animorphs, it was too good an opportunity to resist. Even if you can't quite follow who's who in the story, I hope that it makes at least somewhat interesting reading. I'm sure that at least one person likes it, and that's practically too much to ask.   
       Of course I didn't need to put all of us in the Tenchi Muyo! series, I probably could have done something more original. Why did I choose to do that, then? I have no idea. I started this a long time ago, you know!   
       And about the chat... if you're curious, the channel name on IRC is indeed #Animorphs, on Espernet. A good server is adastra.esper.net if you'd like to come by. Who knows who might be there. Oh... and as for placing in time in relation to the anime series, it's definitely somewhere in the middle of the first TV series. Just ignore the fact that naturally there's no mention of these occurrences... this is a fan fic, you know!


End file.
